


And The Flowers Are Still Standing

by HowlingWendigos



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, But yeah buckle up kiddos its another Hanahaki fic, Fluff and Angst, Hanahaki Disease, I actually had this idea way before any other fics were posted i just, Im nervous about posting this in chapter form bc im afraid i wont finish, Literally the entire first half pre-squip is just. Michael being gay, M/M, Vomiting, both boys will suffer, but - Freeform, havent forced myself to write anything till now, there will be a happy ending I swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-21 22:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11366559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowlingWendigos/pseuds/HowlingWendigos
Summary: It started in 9th grade when he realized he was in love with his best friend.It started when he developed a cough that wouldn't go away.It started when Jeremy left for the bathroom, and he coughed up a single, purple petal in the palm of his hand.





	1. Seeds

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy so I finally got around to writing this?? After almost 2 months?? Yikes i promised this would be up sooner but I'm really fucking lazy. Also! So- This was just supposed to be a really long one shot? I cant promise a consistent update schedule bc Im seriously really. Really bad at that. But I swear, I'll finish this fic- I have the whole thing planned out in a series of 41 screenshots. This chapter only took me through like. 4 of them. Sooo this might be long! I doubt it will be more than 5 Chapters though.  
> I also have no BETA, so this is all raw and written in a span between 12 - 3 am.  
> So, Enjoy!  
> Also yes. The Title is a reference to ghostbusters. Even though i didnt know that until google told me, I felt like it fit.  
> Comments are also appreciated, but if you dont feel up for it, thats alright!  
> Also, for anyone wondering, the flowers Michael coughs up in this are called Tall Bellflowers!

It starts in 9th grade.

The day was far from extraordinary- in fact, it was about as average as it could get. The sky was gray, classes were draining, and everything was as normal as it could be for a random day in the middle of freshman year.  
Nothing had been out of the usual, and that’s how Michael intended the rest of the day to go as he and Jeremy made their way back to his house, intent on spending their time blowing off homework, playing video games and eating shit junk food, maybe smoke a little bit of weed on the side, who knows?

And that's exactly how things went.  
Until they didn’t.

They're playing video games when it happens.  
  
Its an old copy of Metroid Michael had scrounged up at a garage sale earlier that week- both he and Jeremy had been so excited, practically counting the days until they could rush back to Michael’s house and shove the old game into his scrappy NES.  
It’s in the middle of a level when the game glitches, Michael yelling in panic as Samus stops responding to his commands, only able to twist back and forth helplessly as the metroid Michael had been trying no escape from descends, latching onto the bounty hunter’s head and taking away the precious remainder of Michael’s health.

With a yell of frustration and more than a few choice cuss words, Michael throws the controller down, turning over to scream into his beanbag chair. It’s only when he hears that familiar, gasping laughter that he looks back up- only for him to witness the most beautiful sight he had ever laid eyes on.  
Jeremy is absolutely _cackling_ , bent over with shoulder-shaking gasps of laughter, tears forming in the corners of his scrunched up eyes as his cheeks flush that adorable, adorable red and-

Oh.  
Michael swears in that moment his heart skips a beat. All he can do is stare, a warm feeling welling up in his chest, a flush rising to his own cheeks as he watches Jeremy, unable to bring himself to look away as the realization washes over him. He has no idea how he didn't notice before.

 _I’m in love with Jeremy Heere_.  
  
He looks back over at the other boy to see him flopped against the bean bag, catching his breath and rubbing his eyes as his cackling subsides into giggles, and _Yeah_ , he thinks. _I’m fucked._

\--

A few hours go by, Metroid long forgotten in favor of the joint now perched between Michael’s lips. He tries not to think to hard on the fact that just a minute earlier, it had been between Jeremy’s lips as well.

He fails.

He sighs, taking a drag from the joint rather than letting his mind linger on those thoughts. He lets the smoke drift into his lungs, only to seize up as his chest tightens, a cough forcing its way out as he bends over, barely managing to keep the joint between his fingers as he brings his elbow up to cover his mouth.  
Jeremy blinks from where he’s sitting, pushing himself up into a sitting position as he looks over at Michael, concern clear in his eyes.

“Dude- are you okay??”  
  
Michael can hear the worry in his voice- he wants nothing more than to be able to make it go away. So that’s exactly what he tries to do.  
  
“Yeah man- I think I might just be getting sick or some shit.”  
  
Jeremy’s face scrunched up at his words, the gears in the brunette’s head slowly turning.  
  
“Wait- Aw fuck, that means I’m gunna get sick too. You asshole.”  
  
Michael stifles a laugh as Jeremy begins to pout, a huge grin spreading across his face as the other halfheartedly throws a pillow at him in mock anger.  
  
“Fine, Fine. I see how it is. No more hits for you, Mr.Heere.”  
  
Michael snickered, coughing softly as he brought the joint back up to his lips as Jeremy shot up with a noise of indigence.  
  
“You asshole!”

\--

Things even out after that. The coughs are persistent- they don't decline, but Michael expected that. What wasn't expected was the absence of any other cold-related symptoms. Michael knew by now to stay away from WebMD unless he wanted to psych himself out into thinking he was going to die in the next 24 hours, but that didn't stop him from trying to find  at least some kind of answer to what was going on.

In the end, his search only raised more questions. The only plausible explanations he had found were medication side effects, allergies, and the possibility that his smoking habit was starting to take it’s toll on his health.  
He shook the nagging anxiety off, brushing it off whenever a worried Jeremy would raise a question.  
He was fine.  
  
At least, that’s what he thought. And with good reason. Sure, he had a persistent, annoying cough, but aside from that, nothing really changed. He and Jeremy still walked the hall’s together, sat at the same table at lunch, still huddled together in Michael’s basement every night playing video games. Everything was, well… normal.  
It was fitting then that things changed on a seemingly normal day, just as they had previously. Michael held open the door for Jeremy, slipping in after him and shutting the door with a click. Today hadn’t been the best day for Michael. To anyone else- hell, even to Jeremy, Michael’s day seemed to have gone on just like any other.   
The only problem was the weight that had settled itself in Michael’s chest as his best friend went on and on, fawning over none other than the amazing Miss Christine Canigula.  
It wasn’t that Michael wasn’t happy for his friend- He was, really! It was just… He wished that adoration and love filled gaze could be focused...elsewhere. 

Specifically, at him.

He sighed, shaking his head and plastering on a practiced grin as Jeremy glanced back at him, humming in acknowledgement as Jeremy went back to gushing over the short, excitable girl. Michael grabbed some bottles of soda and a bag of chips as they passed the kitchen, soon making his way downstairs with Jeremy now bringing up the rear. He flopped down onto his beanbag chair, wrinkling his nose as the action caused a cough to escape him, his chest feeling tight as he shifted around. He looked up as Jeremy made his way over- the lanky boy had paused his spiel, stretching with his arms over his head. If his shirt rode up a bit, giving the other boy a clear view of his pale stomach, Michael didn’t say anything.  
  
And he _totally_   didn't stare at it for a bit longer than her should have.  
  
Yeah, no. He did.

“Ah- Hey, dude?”  
  
Michael jumped at the sound of Jeremy’s voice, snapping back into reality. He looked away in a vain attempt to hide his flushing cheeks, pretending to be busy opening the bag of chips he’d brought down instead.  
  
“I’m gunna use the bathroom real quick, I’ll be back in just a sec!”  
  
With that, Jeremy took off for the bathroom, leaving Michael and his rapidly reddening face alone as the other boy ascended the stairs to the main floor.  
Michael let out a loud, frustrated sigh, dragging his hands over his face as he flopped back against his beanbag. This whole crush thing was going to be a lot harder than he thought, especially with the fact that Jeremy was only interested in-  
  
His thoughts cut off as his chest tightened almost painfully- his breathing hitched as a cough ripped it’s way out of his throat, only for several more to follow. Michael rolled onto his side, curling in on himself and bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as the coughs continued to wrack his body.  
Finally, after a few minutes, the coughs died down. Michael groaned, pushing himself back up into a sitting position.   
  
_Yeah, those are definitely getting worse. You should probably call the doct…_

Michael’s thoughts trailed off as he stared down at the hand that had been pressed against his mouth.

_ What the fuck….? _

He continued to stare down at his hand, confusion and shock running rampant through the boy’s mind as he tried to process what exactly he was seeing- and more importantly, where it had com from.  
  
For against the dark skin of the boy’s hand, there sat a single, light purple flower petal.


	2. Sprouts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things progress. The petal keep coming.  
> Things dont change.  
> Until /she/ shows up.  
> They get worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaa heck. Sorry this is such a short chapter but its late and i need to update it with *something* so that i dont lose my motivation and completely abandon this fic.  
> So its a bit short, but there will be more to come!  
> Chrissies not a bad guy in this btw geez the chapter summary makes her sound evil  
> But have some suffering michael to hold you over till the next chapter, which will contain: More suffering michael.

The petals didn't stop.

Michael had been content to brush it off at first- to ignore it. I mean- maybe he was seeing things. People don't just cough up _flower petals_. That's just- not a thing that happens. Hed denied it, dropped the petal to the ground and resolved to never think of the strange coincidence ever again. And that's just what he did.

Until he coughed up another.

And another.

And another.

It was terrifying, to say the least. He learned to deal with it. He learned a lot, actually.

Like how the itch in his throat would get worse when he thought about Jeremy too much. How to stifle coughs and hide the petals.

How much it hurt to have those god forsaken petals claw their way out of his throat.

But most of all, he learned how to deal. The flowers didn't get better, but they didn't get worse. The coughs weren't constant- maybe once or twice a day. He could handle it. He had it under control.

At least- he did until **she** came around.

Christine Canigula.

Now, it wasn't that michael hated christine. God, no- he couldn't if he tried. Hell, he was pretty sure it was physically *impossible* to hate her. She was a bubble, adorable, scatterbrained theater nerd with a heart so big and a spirit so kind-

No, It wasn't that Michael hated _her_.

He hated what she did to Jeremy.

His best friend had taken one look at Christine and practically fallen head over heels. It was like watching himself in a mirror- Albeit a much straighter, lankier mirror, but even so.  
The way that Jeremy pined after the girl made his chest clench up, a deep seated ache spreading to the rest of his body as he watched it happen, day in and day out.

The flowers got worse.

His chest felt tight whenever Jeremy so much as mentioned Christine. He could feel the petals, building up, desperately trying to force their way out- but every time, he swallowed them back down, forcing a smile and encouraging his player two to ‘ _go get ‘er, Tiger_ ’. He'd hold the flowers in for as long as he could, until Jeremy was out of sight. The moment he was sure the other boy was gone, he’d bolt for the bathroom, hand covering his mouth as he choked back coughs, the violet petals searing their way up his throat, desperate for escape.

This became routine.

It didn't matter that the mention of Christine caused his chest to seize.

It didn't matter that _apparently_ , he had fucking flowers growing inside him or some shit.

It didn't matter that his heart broke a little more every time Jeremy would gush over the girl-

It didn't matter that he wished it was **him** that Jeremy would talk about like that.

It doesn't matter that his pockets are full of violet petals because he can't stop thinking about a certain _someone._

Because like anything else in his life, Michael had learned to deal.

And that's exactly what he would keep doing.

It had worked so far.

Right?

 _After all_ , He thought.

_It’s not like I'm dying._

 


End file.
